One true sentence

All you ever need to do is write one true sentence.
But I’ve found that truth is in the eye of the beholder
And my eyes get distracted by all the beauty in this world
So I only get half truths
Partial pieces of pictures that I’m constantly flipping around
Making them look like they’re the right side up
Or the left side down
I never knew the difference as a kid
Never knew how I was supposed to look at the world
Always figured that my mind didn’t work the way it should have
My own mother thought I was autistic- even had me tested twice
Became worried when I didn’t speak until I was 2 years old.
I just didn’t have anything to say
I was always quiet
Preferred sitting and observing, drawing pictures in the dirt rather than trying to capture a flag
Found out that I could be happy with earthworms and snails as friends
Rather than trying to create a relationship with acid tongued children who only knew the world as cruel and mocking when it came to feeling like you belonged
The smart ones figured out that they could bring themselves up by pulling other people down
And I was always hunched over with my face looking at the roots of trees; I looked like a stepping stone in their popularity game
But I didn’t mind
Because when their freckled cheeks got sunburned from trying to chase ideas in the clouds that were too far away from them
I would have mud stripes that looked deceptively like war paint
Because I never battled with mother nature
We had peaceful discussions and playful arguments
Sometimes a game of tug of war
Where I would pull and pull and pull
Trying to prevent the inevitable
But she would always win
Always held firm
And her roots went far deeper than I understood
But I learned quickly enough not to fight things I don’t fully understand
Learned that I preferred being a lover to a fighter
Which still holds true
But sometimes I don’t know where to direct my love
So it comes out in jasmine scented bubbles that land on the page and turn into a poem
But I have to be careful when I catch them
Or they’ll disappear before I can get a good look at them
And the way they reflect my face
With oily swirling rainbows where my eyebrows should be
But I learned a long time ago
That my perception of the world is not really related to how the world is
And I was told that all I ever have to do is write one true sentence
Except there are too many words in my head and adventures to have to constrict them
So if you want me to take your advice, I’ll write a true life sentence
My own story line that I’ll pump in as much honesty as I can
That tastes like honest tea
Steeped in late nights spent thinking about the sunset I just saw
Sweetened by the honey of my memories made in the beehive of my childhood mind

Yes, I will write one true sentence
I will write one true life sentence
My own
I sentence myself to life unimprisoned
Uninhibited
Spending my days discovering what it really means to be free
Remembering that I already learned it
When I was a kid
Hands deep in the dirt
Chasing after earthworms and avoiding the earwigs
Skin dappled by pine needle filtered sunlight
When my own backyard was the biggest adventure I could ever need

One day I’ll find myself back there
Realize how much smaller it feels now that my global perspective has grown
Overturn a few rocks to see what I find
Because there are still a few mysteries just outside my front door
That I’ve forgotten to try to solve
There are some words in the back of my mind that I’m sure I’ve forgotten to say
But I was always a quiet kid.
And I’m still just fine sitting in the corner with my notepad
Letting silence expand from the corners that it was waiting from
Just to make sure that someone
Is still
Listening.